


Mortem

by Yatorihell



Series: In The Darkness [59]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, ノラガミ | Noragami (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:39:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27509221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yatorihell/pseuds/Yatorihell
Summary: The world learns that the Sorcerer has returned, but for Yato it was far too late.
Series: In The Darkness [59]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/547369
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14





	Mortem

Yato stared down at the scattered newspapers of the _Daily Prophet_ he’d dropped on the floor after reading it. The headline glared up at him, black letters swimming under a picture of the carnage of the Department of Mysteries.

**_MINISTER RESIGNS – SORCERER RETURNS EXCLUSIVE!_ **

It seemed – after a year of the Sorcerer’s return – the world finally believed him. The only explanation the Ministry could come up with for the destruction of the Hall of Prophecy was that the Sorcerer had sought out the prophecy and destroyed it, along with the fates of millions of others.

Such negligence in the protection of the Ministry and its artifacts forced the Minister to resign, along with those who assisted him in his hostage of power. Who the new Minister of Magic would be was still to be decided.

Of course, Oshi had vanished following the Ministry battle. Whilst there was no official reason for her departure from Hogwarts and the Ministry, the rumour of her allegiance to the Sorcerer was well and truly alive.

Professor Tenjin came out of hiding not long after the news broke. Acquitted of all charges of treason, he was reinstated as Headmaster of Hogwarts following the Minister's disgraced exit.

Whilst the end-of-year feast had been a joyous occasion, Yato had slunk away to hide his face.

Now on the fourth floor, Yato resigned himself to his hidey-hole, an undisturbed room that he used to skip class. The bookcase was lined with a thick layer of dust, the tapestry hanging by a few threadbare strings against the stone wall. The fireplace was now a host to a family of spiders that skittered up the chimney, their webs spun finely over the room.

Yato looked around at the abysmal state of the room, wondering how he ever felt at home in this dingey little space when he had nowhere to call home. He hadn’t been here since his second year when he had met Hiyori and Yukine. Had it been five years already? And only two since he’d found Sakura again…

Sakura.

The week following her death had blurred away. From the moment Daikoku wrapped his arms around Yato to stop him from throwing himself into the veil after Sakura, dragged away kicking and screaming as the Deatheaters and the Order fled the Ministry, Yato could hardly remember anything but a hole in his chest. The scattered pages of the _Daily Prophet_ at his feet were a sickening reminder of that.

Yato flopped down on the red sofa with a sigh, his hand naturally tucking in his pocket for a moment before he pulled out his silver hand mirror. He flipped it over in his hand, ignoring his sullen face in the reflection. It had mysteriously reappeared in his dorm, placed face down on his besides table as if it had never went missing. Now it was the last part of Sakura he had left.

Bitterness swept over Yato when he first saw it. He knew it was Nora who had brought it back. Why, he didn’t know as Sakura’s mirror was probably back in Grimmauld Place, never to be touched again.

Sakura, it seemed, was now a phantom the Ministry would never catch.

The door creaked and Yato’s eyes flickered upwards as the door slowly opened. Yukine’s and Hiyori’s apologetic faces appeared around the weathered doorframe, giving him half a smile as they stepped into the room. It seemed to be the new way they greeted him, unsure how to deal with Yato’s grief amongst the growing attention from students now that the world knew he had indeed faced the Sorcerer the year prior.

Yato tucked the mirror back in his pocket and flopped back against the sofa, letting his hair fall partially over his eyes and stared at the blackened ceiling.

The summer sun filtered onto the worn tapestry and shed golden rays against their faces. Yukine stopped short of the crumpled newspaper on the floor with a pitying look that he tried not to show, knowing how it felt to be looked at that way.

Hiyori perched on the edge of the sofa, hands on her knees and looking as if she didn’t know what to do with herself. In truth, she didn’t. Every time they had told Yato it wasn’t his fault they were shut down.

 _“It was my fault_ ,” Yato would cut them off with, and neither Hiyori nor Yukine could argue with him.

Accident or not, Yato knew it was his fault alone. Yet the sickening truth of what he had done hadn’t caught up to him, and perhaps it wouldn’t.

As Hiyori pointed out, the Trace – a Ministry tracker for underage magic that would break once a person turned seventeen – had not alerted the Ministry about the magic they had used in the Department of Mysteries. After all, so many students using magic in the termtime would only result in an endless alert for the use of underage magic, and the Ministry had bigger problems now.

“The Order has been sworn to secrecy,” Yukine broke the silence and returned the look Yato gave him with a pointedness that told him not to argue. “Madame Kofuku will not tell anyone what happened, and neither will we. Sakura didn’t die so you could throw your life away.”

The thought was of little comfort. Only those who were in the Ministry knew the truth, and he knew he could trust them – except for the Deatheaters who would be in no rush to tell what they saw.

Yato heaved himself back up to rest his elbows on his knees, feeling the reassuring dig of the mirror jabbing in his ribs.

A lulled silence that bathed the room. Not awkward or sullen, just… silence.

“Madame Kofuku also found something.”

Yato turned his head to Hiyori at her words, his eyebrow quirking upwards for just a second.

Hiyori’s hand delved into her pocket, but her eyes adverted from Yato’s as she slowly pulled out a long, thin object.

Yato stared at the object in Hiyori’s hand, piecing together its significance until it all fell into place and shattered his heart.

Sakura’s wand.

Yato felt the need to heave as he remembered the look on Sakura’s face, the clatter of the wand falling from her hand resounding in his ears, but fought it down. After a moment’s hesitation, Yato took the hilt of the wand. It was dark and tinged with red, wood from a cherry tree like Hiyori’s, and felt surprisingly light in his hand.

Yato’s eyes welled quicker than he could summon the strength to stop the tears. The wand blurred in front of his eyes. He felt Hiyori’s hand on his knee, and then Yukine’s hand on his shoulder, soothing him, telling him it was ok, that he wouldn’t be alone this summer, that he could come home with Yukine until he was ready to go back to Grimmauld Place.

Yato sniffled, his palm pressed against his cheek to wipe away the tears and his breathing shuddering as he fought for control over his body, and nodded.

Though Yato thought he had killed his family, they were still with him in his darkest moment.

And he couldn’t have asked for more.

**Author's Note:**

> That's the end for the Order of the Pheonix, we'll go onto Half-Bloo Prince now.  
> I'm getting used to this little laptop and my motivation has come back with all your sweet comments. I may not reply but each one gives me a boost to keep going.


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